Maggie Creek Road
by MissDevon
Summary: FF: Kristina fears her daughter, Ruby, might repeat the mistakes she herself once made when it came to young love, can she and her brother and the combined Corinthos/Spencer family save her before history repeats itself? Kristina/Ethan, Dante/Lulu songfic


**Maggie Creek Road**

Kristina Lovett laughed as her husband on nearly 17 years reached around her and pilfered one of the pieces of cheese she had just cut up for the plate she was preparing for the low key dinner party they were hosting for Lulu and Dante, who would be celebrating their 19th anniversary in a couple of days, Lucky and Sam who--- well Kristina had given up on trying to figure out if her sister was with her brother-in-law or not when Jason was in jail and just she went with his RSVPS of whether he was bringing her or Liz. Then there was Molly who was coming solo this time, which was fine with her. Molly, unfortunately, had gotten their mother's penchant for bad taste in men and the hunt for the perfect one. With 4 failed marriages behind her, her younger sister was still looking and still falling for the wrong men, her only consolation her two children who, Kristina had to admit, faired better then she and her sister ever had.

Smiling, as her eldest daughter, Ruby came into the kitchen the smile quickly slipped. "You wearing that for your aunt and uncles?" Ethan asked her.

"Wearing this for my date," Ruby shot back.

"I thought we decided you weren't dating that loser," Ethan replied with annoyance.

Ruby shrugged: "No, you decided. I'm dating him."

"Ruby, I really wish you wouldn't," Kristina put in, soothingly. "I don't like how he treats you."

Ruby rolled her eyes as her date honked his horn for her to come to him instead of coming into the house for her. "Like you know anything," she said as she flounced out of the house her parents close behind her.

Frowning, Kristina looked back at her husband as a chill ran up her spine as she watched them leave, "I really don't like that boy. He reminds me of my father. Even more than that he reminds me of…"

"Krissy, it'll be ok. We'd never let that happen to her," Ethan said as he wrapped his arms around her.

Pulling away she looked back at him: "How? How can we stop it, Ethan? No one was able to stop it from happening from me. You lie. You cover the bruises. You don't let anyone know. You make excuses… It can happen to her and I just… I can't let our daughter go through that. I won't…"

"He touches one hair on her head I'll kill him."

"He touches her you won't have to."

_Mama stood on the front porch ringing her hands  
Watched the taillights fading on his black Trans AM  
With her precious little baby taking off inside  
Staring at him with stars in her eyes  
She tried to tell her but the girl might as well have been deaf  
She wasn't gonna listen to a word she said_

Ruby looked at her boyfriend with a smile, "So where we going?"

"Maggie Creek Road," he replied.

"You know I'm not allowed there."

"You know I don't care what your parents think. Since when do you?" he asked flashing her the smile that made butterflies go off in her stomach in war with the alarm bells that went off in her brain.

"I thought we agreed to wait. I mean there's only one reason why people go down to Maggie Creek Road…"

He laughed at her: "sometimes you are sooo immature. I made us a picnic. And we can just makeout. Nothing too heavy."

"Promise?"

"Would I lie to you?"

Sighing, she looked away almost shyly: "No," she said automatically.

_Don't go down Maggie Creek Road  
With a boy lookin' like that  
He'll tell you things that you wanna hear  
And there'll be no turnin' back  
There's an oak tree down by the lake  
In the shade where the wild flowers grow  
What will happen only heaven knows  
So don't go down Maggie Creek Road_

_It was a still black night dark is coal  
Nobody heard her when she said no  
She kicked and screamed and got free somehow  
Tore her dress on the door when he pushed her out  
She walked thirteen miles on the gravel road  
With tears in her eyes  
Twenty years ago_

"We need to talk," Lulu said as she slid in by her sister-in-law as Kristina prepared a dessert tray in the kitchen.

"That doesn't sound too good," Krissy sighed.

"I don't know if it is. Look, I have Lucky and Dante on alert already. I don't want E to know but thought you should… Lorelei told us she heard a rumor at school. He's taking Ruby to Maggie Creek Road tonight…" Lulu said as Kristina went cold all over. "Kris… Krissy what is it…"

Kristina shook her head: "You know how there are those things you don't tell anyone. I had a lot of those with Keifer. He took me there one night when we were first together. I wasn't ready and he…"

"Did he… I mean…"

"NO… I got away… walked the 13 miles home… think I would've learned but he was so charming so smooth…" she shook her head. "Can you get Dante to go looking with me? I just have a bad feeling about… I don't want history to repeat and… I never told Ruby about Keifer. Maybe it's time I did."

"I'll get him. You get your coat."

"That won't be the only thing I get," Kristina muttered.

_Don't go down Maggie Creek Road  
With a boy lookin' like that  
He'll tell you things that you wanna hear  
And there'll be no turnin' back  
There's an oak tree down by the lake  
In the shade where the wild flowers grow  
What will happen only heaven knows  
So don't go down Maggie Creek Road_

"Calm down, Krissy," Dante said as he sped down the road.

"Like you'd be saying that if it was Lor?" she shot back at him.

Rolling his eyes at his younger sister as he kept his eyes on the twisting road in front of him as he let out a sigh: "you know either way I'd want to kill the guy, same way as I wanted to kill the guy who hurt you."

"You never did believe it was Ethan did you?" she huffed.

Dante shrugged his shoulders: "didn't make a whole lot of sense. Why would he have taken you to the hospital and stayed if he had? Who had hurt you the other times? Batterers only get worse, Krissy. Besides I was more objective then the others and I had never liked Keifer to begin with."

"Yeah, you and Michael."

"Can we please not go into the me and Michael comparisons?" Dante asked. "Especially while I'm driving down a twisting and dangerous road. That's a bad enough road to take when we're sitting in your living room."

"He's up for parole," Kristina sighed as she looked out the window of the car at the trees flashing by. "Think he'll get it?"

"Don't know, but I know you care."

"She cost him a year of his life. Almost killed his mother and sister."

"Hate to be the rational one in this," Date stated, glad to try to keep his sister's mind off her daughter, "But what everyone seems to forget is that unlike our father Claudia didn't actually shoot anyone in the head. Johnny did have a point when he testified that if Carly could forgive Sonny for shooting her in the head by accident when she was giving birth to Morgan they should've cut her some slack for _ordering_ a hit gone bad. Besides, Michael wasn't even supposed to be there that day. Kate brought him without Sonny's or Carly's permission. Sonny also choose to push his girlfriend out of the line of fire instead of his son. He has to take some responsibility.

And Michael has to take responsibility for swinging that ax handel and taking Claudia's life. She wasn't the nicest person in the world, but she didn't have the most stable of upbringings. If Sonny can use it as his defense for all he's done she should've gotten that chance too."

Kristina shifted in her seat and stared at her brother: "Does that mean that Ruby's situation is my fault. I mean because I didn't tell her about what happened to me with Keifer and how that was why I wanted her to stay away from…"

"No, Krissy. With your job… mine, Lucky's we all saw the signs. She didn't listen to any of us. It's like with Robin Drake. She knew all the signs of Sonny's world. All it could cost her, but she kept going back. Painted Sonny to be someone like her 'Uncle' Duke. Only he wasn't and in the end it cost her pretty much everything, didn't it? She went to bat for him and Michael one to many times and Patrick and Emma got caught in the crossfire. Emma died. Patrick lost his ability to practice medicine because of the nerve damage and he's never gotten over losing Emma or stopped blaming her and I don't think she's stopped blaming herself, but she still doesn't blame Sonny.  
She learnt the hard way. Sometimes that's the only way to learn. This was Ruby's way to learn, honey."

"I wish it wasn't."

"Me too," Dante admitted. "But she won't be the only under 18 year old I'll be bailing out of trouble. Can you imagine the type of trouble that Georgia is getting herself into and we don't even know about? She has Maxie's temperament and Spinelli's brains. That girl gets into something big enough for us to bail her out of and it's going to take all our resources. And Jocelyn sure as hell takes after her mother."

Kristina laughed: "OK, big brother I get your point."

"We'll keep her safe, you'll see."

"Always the level headed one."

"Well, most of the time. I am a Falconery," he said as he rounded a corner. "There's the car."

"Stop here. Turn out the lights. I got this side you go around."

"Crap. You're packing, aren't you?"

"Tell me you're not?" she shot back with fire in her eyes.

"Just don't do anything stupid."

"I'll only promise not to do anything you wouldn't do."

_Somehow mama's always know  
Cause they should have been home an hour ago  
When she pulled up it was just going down  
She turned her headlights off didn't make a sound  
She heard her baby cry no but he wouldn't stop  
Her heart went cold and her blood ran hot  
With a pistol in her hand she opened his door  
You don't wanna see mama go to war  
_

The cry of NO rent the air as Kristina made it to the car. With ease she pulled open the door and the boy and her daughter all but fell out at her feet. Her stance was easy as was her hold on the gun that she had pointed at the boy's head: "I believe she said 'no.' So I suggest you take your hands off of her and let her go before I do something you wouldn't like."

The boy laughed at her, smirking Kristina cocked the gun as Dante rounded the car: "Perhaps you don't know this," she said as she knelt, placing the cold metal to the boy's head as her daughter struggled to sit up, her eyes dilated with shock between the trauma of her 'date' and her mother's actions: "what with my married name and all. But daddy dearest was Sonny Corinthos. Big brother's step daddy for a while was a Zachariah. Sister-in-law's a Spencer. Oh and mommy dearest was a Cassidine. I can shoot you and make your body disappear or plead insanity. Runs in the family. Believe me I know how to fake the breakdown if I have to and have enough doctors on speed dial willing to lie. I kill you for trying to rape my daughter I get away with it…"

"Krissy, enough," Dante said as he put his jacket over his niece and helped her to get unsteadily to her feet as backup in the form of his brother-in-law came.

"You told Lucky?" Kristina asked accusingly.

"Figured you'd need help with the body while he took the kid home," Lucky said straight faced. "Ethan thinks we're all out on a call. Dante's taking Ruby to his and Lulu's where you can fill her and Lor in on abusive guys while I book this jerk. In fact I have the perfect cell for him. We got a guy Diane's defending. Up for parole. Has major anger management problems. If he were provoked… don't think that would interfere do you?"

Dante smirked: "Especially not if booking's backed up and we can't get this guy processed and his pictures aren't taken to _after_ anger boy jr. has at him."

"That's police brutality!" he cried.

"Nah, that's Corinthos/Spencer family honor," Dante quipped. "Next time, don't go after the granddaughter of two former mob bosses. Really stupid move."

"Yeah, especially when one's the former mayor and has ties to the WSB," Lucky put in. "Come on slimeball let's get you to that cell."

_Don't go down Maggie Creek Road  
With a boy lookin' like that  
He'll tell you things that you wanna hear  
And there'll be no turnin' back  
There's an oak tree down by the lake  
In the shade where the wild flowers grow  
What will happen only heaven knows  
So don't go down Maggie Creek Road_

Kristina shook her head as she followed her brother and sister to the car: "You really going to let him have at him?"

"Why not? If he works out some of that anger before the parole hearing maybe little brother will actually get it this time," Dante said as he opened the door for his niece, who just stood there looking at the ground.

"Ruby, we need to leave now," Krissy said.

"You must be so mad at me."

"Why honey?"

"You knew… didn't want me to date him and I didn't listen… you had to come out here and save me…"

"I just glad we could," Kristina said as she looked at her daughter. "Some people, including me, weren't that lucky."

"You mean you were…"

"I wasn't raped. You know your aunt Liz was though, right?"

"Yeah."

"But I was in a very abusive relationship when I was in HS. My boyfriend, Keifer, put me in the hospital twice in less then a month. I lied about who attacked me the first time. I actually said it was your father so I could protect Keifer. I thought I was doing the right thing, only I wasn't."

"What happened to him…"

"We'll talk about that at your uncle's. I think it's time I had a talk with you and Lor about abusive guys and being honest about them and the signs, that way something like this doesn't happen again."

_I said don't go down Maggie Creed Road  
Oh don't go down Maggie Creek Road  
Oh don't go down Maggie Creek Road  
Maggie Creek Road_

_Song Credit: Maggie Creek Road, Reba McEntire_


End file.
